Sunday, 23 August 2009

Islamabad is a young city. Still in its late 30s, the city is vibrant, modern and beautiful. The true face of the progressive Pakistan, Islamabad is a city to get lost. Its wide streets, beautiful houses and colourful bazaars present a picturesque face of Islamabad.

The power center of Pakistan, Islamabad is the capital of the country.For those who love turning through the pages of history; Islamabad was made the capital of Pakistan in 1959. In 1960, a Greek firm (Constantinos Doxiades) was handed over the charge to build the capital city. In the year 1966, Islamabad was ready to make its entry into the list of some of the well-planned city in South Asia. In its 39 years of existence, Islamabad has seen Pakistan going through difficult phases. But the city has not lost its character of being beautiful and peaceful.For a traveler to Islamabad, the city has an excellent infrastructure and some of the wonderful places to visit. Islamabad is located at the base of the Margalla Hills, which offer wonderful opportunity for trekking and hiking. Islamabad is planned in such a way that there are a number of spots for walking, trekking and jogging.Islamabad is a complete destination that offers tourists beautiful gardens, wonderful monuments, exquisite handicrafts, great dining options to enjoy Pakistani cuisine, colourful bazaars and most important of all is the Pakistani hospitality. Unmatched in scale and warmth, Pakistani hospitality is what touches you on your tour to Pakistan.Lok Virsa, which is the National Cultural Center and Museum, is an exciting place to get a glimpse of the Pakistani handicraft items. For shopping enthusiasts, Islamabad has many bazaars. You can rummage through an assortment of items at Jinnah Super, Aabpara or Blue Area bazaar. The other places worth checking out are Shakar-Parian hilltop, the Rawal Lake and Pir Suhawah hilltop. A leisurely stroll through the Jasmine Garden is a soothing experience in Islamabad. Those interested in the wonders of the past can head to Faisal Mosque, an architectural masterpiece. For the sporty kind, Islamabad has bowling alleys, golf courses and football and cricket fields.

LAHORE

In the past, Lahore was the melting pot of different culture, art and craft. Centuries later, not much has changed. The second largest city in Pakistan, Lahore is the educational, cultural and artistic capital of Pakistan. Once the capital of the Mughal Empire, Lahore bears the stamp of the Mughal architecture.According to mythology Lahore traces its origin to the period of the Ramayana and to Loe, the son of Lord Rama, who believed to have founded the city, but history, traces the past of Lahore from the 8th century AD onwards. Lahore was under the rule of the Hindu ruler Lalitiditya in the 8th century, before the advent of the Muslim in the 11th century. In the 13th century, Lahore was completely destroyed when it became the target of Mongolian warriors, who were led by Genghis Khan. Lahore was at its peak during the Mughal rule in the medieval times and later; the city became an important political center during the fight for independence against the British.Lahore opens vistas of cultural, architectural and scenic beauty to a traveler. There is so much to see and enjoy in Lahore that if you are the one who believes in touch and go, you may not be able to enjoy Lahore completely. Lahore is the place that welcomes you with its various historic sights, cultural centres, vibrant markets and great hospitality.Lahore is the capital of the Punjab province and is home to some wonderful monuments. Most popular of them all is the Royal Fort or Shahi Quila that dates back to 1556 AD. The fort was built by the Mughal emperor Akabar and houses some fine buildings that include Diwan-e-Aam, Moti Masjid, Khwahbag-e-Jahangir and Diwan-e-Khas. The Sheesh Mahal or the Palace of Mirrors is something that you should not miss on your visit to the Royal Fort.The Imperial or the Badshahi Mosque is another marvel of architecture. The mosque was built by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1647. Beautifully built in red stone, the Badshahi Mosque is the second largest mosque in Pakistan. Wazir Khan's Mosque is another beautiful mosque in Lahore that you can visit. This mosque was built in 1634 by Wazir Khan.The Mughals' gift to Lahore-the Shalimar Gardens is an exciting place to visit. Just five kilometres from the old city the gardens make a wonderful tourist spot for tourists to Pakistan. Built by the Mughal ruler Shah Jehan in 1642, the gardens reflect the typical Mughal style layout.The other places that you can include in your itinerary include the Mall, Lahore Museum, Kim's Gun and the Minar-I-Pakistan. Aitchison College, that was once the studying place of Imran Khan is another beautiful spot that you check out. A walk through the bazaars in Lahore is a must on your tour to Lahore. No tour to Lahore is complete with enjoying the flavors of the local cuisine

KARACHI

Karachi is the cosmopolitan city of Pakistan.

The capital of the Sind Province, Karachi has come a long way from an obscure fishing village in the 18th century to a leading city bubbling with trade and commerce. Once the capital of Pakistan, Karachi today is one of the most populous cities in Pakistan. A classic mix of old and new, Karachi is wonderful tourist destination.For a tourist traveling to Karachi, the port city is a bouquet of varying tourist sights and activities. If the city offers a wonderful opportunity for water sports, there are other places that are a delight to experience. Karachi is one of the finest cities when it comes to infrastructure. Karachi has a number of high-end hotels, wonderful restaurants and bustling markets to keep a tourist busy. The city has an international airport, which links the city with rest of the world. Karachi is often called the gateway to Pakistan.Most tourists to the city start their tour to Karachi with a visit to Quaid-I-Azam Mausoleum-the monument dedicated to the founder of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. But it's entirely up to you, the way you like your tour to start. You can visit the exciting markets that line the streets of Karachi. Hi-tech electronic shops are something that is hard to miss when strolling through the bazaars of Karachi.The white-marbled Defence Housing Society Mosque makes its presence felt, when it comes to architectural masterpieces in Karachi. The single dome of the mosque is probably the largest in the world. Wazir Mansion is another wonderful place that you can visit in Karachi.goOther places of tourist interest in Karachi include the St. Andrew's Church and the Holy Trinity Cathedral. A tour of the city zoo is another fun option in the port city. Those interested in beach activities can head to Clifton Beach and Manora Island.Located on the east of the Arabian Sea, Karachi offers some exciting water sports options. You can enjoy water skiing, yachting and cruising on your tour to Karachi

Beautiful Places in World

PARIS

Paris is located in the north-bending arc of the river Seine and includes two islands, the Île Saint-Louis and the larger Île de la Cité, which form the oldest part of the city. Overall, the city is relatively flat, and the lowest elevation is 35 m (115 ft) above sea level. Paris has several prominent hills, of which the highest is Montmartre at 130 m (427 ft). Paris, excluding the outlying parks of Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes, covers an oval measuring 86.928 km2 (34 sq mi) in area.[citation needed] The city's last major annexation of outlying territories in 1860 not only gave it its modern form but created the twenty clockwise-spiralling arrondissements (municipal boroughs).

From the 1860 area of 78 km2 (30 sq mi), the city limits were expanded marginally to 86.9 km2 (34 sq mi) in the 1920s. In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes forest parks were officially annexed to the city, bringing its area to the present 105.39 km2 (41 sq mi)

.Climate

Paris has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) and is affected by the North Atlantic Current, so the city rarely sees extremely high or low temperatures, such as the heat wave of 2003 and the cold wave of 2006.Paris has warm and pleasant summers with average high temperatures of 25 °C (77 °F) and low of 15 °C (59 °F). Winter is chilly, but temperature is around 3 °C (37 °F) to 8 °C (46 °F), and rarely falls below the freezing point. Spring and autumn have mild to occasionally warm days and cool evenings. Rain falls throughout the year, and although Paris is not a very rainy city, it is known for sudden showers. Average annual precipitation is 642 mm (25 in) with light rainfall fairly distributed throughout the year. Snowfall is rare, but the city sometimes sees light snow or flurries without accumulation. The highest recorded temperature is 40.4 °C (105 °F) on 28 July 1948, and the lowest is a −23.9 °C (−11 °F) on 10 December 1879.

Tourism

Paris from the eleventh century was a popular destination for traders, students and religious pilgrimages, but its 'tourist industry' began on a large scale only with the 19th-century appearance of rail travel, namely from the state's organisation of France's rail network, with Paris at its centre, from 1848.

Among Paris' first mass attractions drawing international interest were the above-mentioned Expositions Universelles that were the origin of Paris' many monuments, namely the Eiffel Tower from 1889. These, in addition to the capital's Second Empire embellishments, did much to make the city itself the attraction it is today.Paris' museums and monuments are among its highest-esteemed attractions; tourism has motivated both the city and national governments to create new ones. The city's most prized museum, the Louvre, welcomes over 8 million visitors a year, being by far the world's most-visited art museum. The city's cathedrals are another main attraction: Its Notre Dame de Paris and the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur receive 12 million and eight million visitors, respectively. The Eiffel Tower, by far Paris' most famous monument, averages over six million visitors per year and more than 200 million since its construction. Disneyland Resort Paris is a major tourist attraction not only for visitors to Paris but for visitors to the rest of Europe as well, with 14.5 million visitors in 2007.

The Louvre is one of the largest and most famous museums, housing many works of art, including the Mona Lisa (La Joconde) and the Venus de Milo statue. Works by Pablo Picasso and Auguste Rodin are found in Musée Picasso and Musée Rodin, respectively, while the artistic community of Montparnasse is chronicled at the Musée du Montparnasse. Starkly apparent with its service-pipe exterior, the Centre Georges Pompidou, also known as Beaubourg, houses the Musée National d'Art Moderne. Art and artifacts from the Middle Ages and Impressionist eras are kept in Musée Cluny and Musée d'Orsay, respectively, the former with the prized tapestry cycle The Lady and the Unicorn. Paris' newest (and third-largest) museum, the Musée du quai Branly, opened its doors in June 2006 and houses art from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Many of Paris' once-popular local establishments have come to cater to the tastes and expectations of tourists, rather than local patrons. Le Lido, the Moulin Rouge cabaret-dancehall, for example, are a staged dinner theatre spectacle, a dance display that was once but one aspect of the cabaret's former atmosphere. All of the establishment's former social or cultural elements, such as its ballrooms and gardens, are gone today. Much of Paris' hotel, restaurant and night entertainment trades have become heavily dependent on tourism.